President Vladimir Putin of Russia has threatened to use nuclear weapon, if pushed to the wall. As a result, Putin has ordered Russian nuclear forces to be put on high alert should the NATO forces choose to make good their threat of attacking Russia.
The directive to put Russia’s nuclear weapons in an increased state of readiness for launch raised fears that the crisis could boil over into nuclear warfare, whether by design or mistake.
This has heightened tension not just in Ukraine but around the world as there are fears that things could get very dangerous and nasty, if not handled with caution.
Putin, in giving the nuclear alert directive, cited not only statements by NATO members — who have rushed to reinforce the military alliance’s members in Eastern Europe — but the hard-hitting financial sanctions imposed by the West against Russia, including Putin himself.
Speaking at a meeting with his top officials, Putin told his defense minister and the chief of the military’s General Staff to put nuclear forces in a “special regime of combat duty.”
“Western countries aren’t only taking unfriendly actions against our country in the economic sphere, but top officials from leading NATO members made aggressive statements regarding our country,” Putin said in televised comments.
U.S. defense officials would not disclose their current nuclear alert level except to say that the military is prepared all times to defend its homeland and allies.
Amid the growing fears, Ukraine had offered to enter into negotiations with Russia, if they are willing, to and had announced that a delegation from the country had agreed to meet with Russian officials for talks. But the Kremlin’s ultimate aims in Ukraine and what it wants still remains unclear.
The fast-moving developments came as scattered fighting was reported in Kyiv, battles broke out in Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, and strategic ports in the country’s south came under assault from Russian forces.
With Russian troops closing in around Kyiv, a city of almost 3 million, the mayor of the capital expressed doubt civilians could be evacuated.
Across the country, Ukrainians determined to defend their country are putting up stiff resistance that appeared to slow Russia’s advance.
Following the increased tension, residents in some parts of Ukraine, like Chernihiv , have been told not to switch on any lights and have been instructed to keep away from windows in order to protect themselves according to reports.
The United States has dismissed Putin’s threat of a nuclear weapon as empty.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki told ABC that Putin is resorting to a pattern he used in the weeks before the invasion, “which is to manufacture threats that don’t exist in order to justify further aggression.”